Tantalus set



April 5, 1938. A. CRAVARITIS TANTALUS SET Filed July 24, 1937 PatentedApr. 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TANTALUS SET Application July24, 1937, Serial No. 155,427

5 Claims.

My present invention relates generally to Tantalus sets.

By the term Tantalus set, as used herein and in the appended claims, Iintend to refer to an assembly of parts consisting of one or morestoppered bottles, and a holder comprising a base plate adapted tosupport the bottle or bottles thereon, and a top plate adapted to snuglyoverlie the bottle or bottles. Usually, a set of this charactercomprises two bottles of substantially rectangular cross-section,arranged side by side, and each bottle is usually provided with aremovable stopper of square cross-section. For illustrative purposes, Ihave, therefore, chosen to illustrate and describe my invention in con.-nection with a set of two bottles of this type.

It is a general object of my invention to pro-- vide a new and uniquemeans for locking the bottles against unauthorized withdrawal.

Briefly, my invention is characterized by the provision of a flange oneither the base plate or the top plate, the flange comprising a fixedportion and a complementary adjustable portion, these flange portionsnormally serving, conjointly, to encircle the adjacent end of the bottleor bottles to prevent withdrawal of the latter. I provide means wherebythe adjustable portion may be swung aside to permit lateral withdrawalof the bottle or bottles; and I also providea means for locking theadjustable flange portion in its normal position.

In the preferred embodiment, the flange is assoeiated with the baseplate.

A feature of my invention lies in arranging the adjustable flangeportion in hinged relation to the plate, so that the flange portion maybe swung outwardly into the plane of the plate when it is desired toeffect a lateral withdrawal of the bottle.

I achieve the foregoing objects, and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustrativelyexemplified in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view of a 'I'antalus set embodying the features of mypresent invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 22 of Figure 1, with parts broken away for the sake ofcompactness of illustration;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken sub stantially along the line3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modification.

I have illustratively shown two rectangular bottles and II, the necksaccommodating the removable stoppers I2 and I3, respectively. Thesebottles are adapted to stand side by side upon a base plate l4 which ispreferably provided with feet l5. Snugly overlying the stoppered bottlesis the top plate I6 which forms the upper portion of a continuous strapwhose side portions ll extend downwardly and are permanently secured attheir lower ends to the base plate M.

In accordance with my invention, I have shown in Figures 1-3 a flangemounted upon the base plate M and consisting of the fixed portions I8,89, and 2t, and the complementary adjustable portion 2!. The lower endsof the strap II are preferably secured to the fixed flange portions l8and 20, as indicated most clearly in Figures 1 and 3.

The adjustable flange portion 2| is hinged, as at 22, to the base plateM so that it may be swung from the normal full-line position of Figure 2to the open dot-and-dash position of this figure. When the portion 2! isin its normal position it serves, conjointly with the fixed portions IE,it, and 20, to snugly encircle the bottles l0 and H. This preventsunauthorized removal of the bottles. When the portion 2| is swung aside,as indicated in Figure 2, either or both of the bottles may be withdrawnlaterally from the device and may be replaced in the same manner.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a means for locking theadjustable flange portion 2! in its normal position. I accomplish thisby mounting a tongue 23 on the base plate Hi, this tongue comprising arelatively narrow strip of material, preferably metal, arranged in aplane perpendicular to the base plate l4 and projecting outwardly beyondone edge of the plate M. In the illustrated embodiment, the tongue has aperforation 24 adapted to receive a small padlock 25. The flange portion2| is provided with a slot 26 adapted to permit passage of the tonguethrough it.

When the padlock 25 is in position, the flange portion 2| cannot beswung aside; but when the padlock 25 is removed, the flange portion 2imay be freely swung into the dot-and-dash position of Figure 2.

Where the Tantalus set comprises two bottles, side by side, as indicatedin the drawing, the tongue 23 is preferably arranged between thebottles.

The invention is equally applicable to the top plate l6, as indicated inFigure 4. In this figure, I have applied the same reference numerals In,H, l2, and I3 to the stoppered bottles. The base plate 21 is in thiscase provided with no flange at all, or with the very shallow ornamentalflange shown in Figure 4. Secured to the base plate are the upwardlyextending straps 28 merging at the top with the top plate 29 whichsnugly overlies the bottles. In this embodiment, a flange is secure-d tothe top plate 29, and consists of the fixed portion 3|] and theadjustable flange portion 3|. The latter is preferably hinged, as at 32,and is adapted to be swung outwardly to permit lateral withdrawal of oneor both bottles. Normally, the adjustable flange portion 3|, conjointlywith the fixed flange portions 30, serves snugly to encircle the upperends of the stoppered bottles, thereby preventing unauthorized removalof the bottles.

As in the previous embodiment, a tongue 33 is adapted to project its endthrough a slot in the flange portion 3|, and I have shown the tongueprovided with a perforation 34 adapted to receive a padlock.

In order to facilitate the grasping of the device of Figure 4, a handle35 is preferably mounted on the top plate 29.

The present construction is particularly advantageous because of itsinconspicuous character. Not only are cumbersome manipulationsunnecessary, but the entire appearance of the set remains unimpaired.

While I have shown the tongue in each case provided with a perforationadapted to receive a padlock, it will be understood that other lockingmeans may, if desired, be resorted to. It is contemplated that anysuitable locking means may be caused to engage with the projecting endof the tongue in order to prevent swinging of the adjustable flangeportion.

It will also .be understood that the device is equally applicable to asingle bottle, or to a set of bottles greater than two in number.Accordingly, in the appended claims, it is intended that the term bottleinclude within its significance either one, two, or more bottles. Alsoin the appended claims, I have used the term stoppered bottle, and bythis term I intend to allude to the entire bottle, including thestopper.

While I have illustratively shown rectangular bottles with rectangularstoppers, it will be understood that bottles of other shapes andstoppers of other shapes may be employed. In general, it will beunderstood that changes in the details, here-in described andillustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of my invention,may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.It is, therefore, intended that these details be interpreted asillustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, and illustrated its use, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a Tantalusset, the combination with a stoppered bottle, of a base plate adapted tosupport the bottle thereon, a top plate, connecting means at oppositeedge portions of the top plate and the base plate for supporting the topplate and cooperating therewith to encircle the upper portion of thebottle with the top plate in position to snugly overlie the bottlestopper, a flange on one of said plates comprising a fixed portion and acomplementary adjustable portion, said flange portions normally servingconjointly to encircle the adjacent end of the bottle to preventwithdrawal of the latter, said adjustable portion being adapted to beswung aside to permit lateral withdrawal of the bottle, and means forlocking said adjustable flange portion in normal position.

2. In a Tantalus set, the combination with a stoppered bottle, of a baseplate adapted to support the bottle thereon, a top plate, connectingmeans at opposite edge portions of the top plate and the base plate forsupporting the top plate and cooperating therewith to encircle the upperportion of the bottle with the top plate in position to snugly overliethe bottle stopper, a flange on one of said plates comprising a fixedportion and a complementary adjustable portion, said flange portionsnormally serving conjointly to encircle the adjacent end of the bottleto prevent withdrawal of the latter, said adjustable portion beingadapted to be swung aside to permit lateral withdrawal of the bottle,and means for locking said adjustable flange portion in normal position,said means comprising a tongue mounted on said plate closely adjacent tothe bottle, a slot in the adjustable flange portion to receive saidtongue through it, and releasable locking means engaging the end of saidtongue.

3. In a Tantalus set, the combination with a stoppered bottle, of a baseplate adapted to support the bottle thereon, a top plate, connectingmeans at opposite edge portions of the top plate and the base plate forsupporting the top plate and cooperating therewith to encircle the upperportion of the bottle with the top plate in position to snugly overliethe bottle stopper, a flange on one of said plates comprising a fixedportion and a complementary adjustable portion, said flange. portionsnormally serving conjointly to encircle the adjacent end of the bottleto prevent withdrawal of the latter, said adjustable portion beingadapted to be swung aside to permit lateral withdrawal of the bottle,and means for locking said adjustable flange portion in normal position,said means comprising a perforated tongue mounted on said plate, a slotin the adjustable flange portion to receive said tongue through it, anda lock engageable within the perforation of said tongue.

4. In a Tantalus set, the combination with a stoppered bottle, of a baseplate adapted to support the bottle thereon, a continuous strap attachedto opposite edge portions of the base plate and encircling the upperportion of the bottle snugly overlying the bottle stopper, a flange onthe base plate comprising a fixed portion and a complementary adjustableportion, said flange portions normally serving conjointly to encirclethe bottom of the bottle to prevent withdrawal of the latter, saidadjustable portion being adapted to be swung aside to permit lateralwithdrawal of the bottle, and means for locking said adjustable flangeportion in normal position.

5. In a Tantalus set, the combination with a stoppered bottle, of a baseplate adapted to support the bottle thereon, a continuous strap attachedto opposite edge portions of the base plate and encircling the upperportion of the bottle snugly overlying the bottle stopper, a flange onthe base plate comprising a fixed portion and a complementary adjustableportion, said flange portions normally serving conjointly to encirclethe bottom of the bottle to prevent withdrawal of the latter, saidadjustable portion being adapted to be swung aside to permit lateralwithdrawal of the bottle, and means for locking said adjustable flangeportion in normal position, said means comprising a perforated tonguemounted on said base plate closely adjacent to the bottle, a slot in theadjustable flange portion to receive said tongue through it, and a lockengageable within the perforation of said tongue.

ANDREW CRAVARITIS.

